The Government has confirmed it is to cut the number of Vocational Education Committees (VECs) by more than half.
The number of VECs will be reduced from 33 to 16 through the amalgamation of smaller committees.
Currently there are 27 county, five city and one borough committee – each with their own administrative structure.
Announcing the new plan this evening, Tánaiste and Minister for Education Mary Coughlan said the arrangement ensures that each of the remaining VECs "will be organisations of sufficient scale to support the evolution of local education service delivery and to meet future challenges."
As a result of these changes, VECs will be stronger and better placed to provide support services to schools, and not just to schools within the VEC sector but to other schools in their areas who wish to avail of them," she said.
"In particular the VECs can engage in the aggregated procurement of supplies and services to the potential benefit of all schools in their areas," she added.
Ms Coughlan said legislation will now be brought forward to allow the new plans to come into force.
Under the new arrangement, Co Dublin and Dún Laoghaire VECs are to be merged into one organisation as will the Galway city and county VECs.
The City of Limerick VEC is to be merged with Co Limerick and Co Kerry VEC while the Waterford city and county VECs will merge with Tipperary South Riding VEC.
Carlow, Kilkenny and Kildare VECs will merge into one organisation as will Louth and Meath VECs, and Cavan and Monaghan VECs.
Other mergers announced tonight include Mayo and Sligo VECs, Leitrim, Roscommon and Longford VECs, Clare and Tipperary North Riding VECs.
The Government has confirmed it is to reduce the number of Volunary ocational Education Committees (VECs) by more than half.
The number of VECs will be cut from 33 to 16 through the amalgamation of smaller committees.
Currently there are 27 county, five city and one borough committee – each with their own administrative structure.
Announcing the new plan this evening, Tánaiste and Minister for Education Mary Coughtlan said the arrangement ensures that each of the remaining VECs "will be organisations of sufficient scale to support the evolution of local education service delivery and to meet future challenges."
As a result of these changes, VECs will be stronger and better placed to provide support services to schools, and not just to schools within the VEC sector but to other schools in their areas who wish to avail of them," she said.
"In particular the VECs can engage in the aggregated procurement of supplies and services to the potential benefit of all schools in their areas," she added.
Ms Coughlan said legislation will now be brought forward to allow the new plans to come into force.
Under the new arrangement, Co Dublin and Dún Laoghaire VECs are to be merged into one organisation as will the Galway city and county VECs.
The City of Limerick VEC is to be merged with Co Limerick and Co Kerry VEC while the Waterford city and county VECs will merge with Tipperary South Riding VEC.
Carlow, Kilkenny and Kildare VECs will merge into one organisation as will Louth and Meath VECs, and Cavan and Monaghan VECs.
Other mergers announced tonight include Mayo and Sligo VECs, Leitrim, Roscommon and Longford VECs, Clare and Tipperary North Riding VECs.
Tonight's announcement was criticised by opposition parties.
The Labour Party said it was not clear what savings and efficiencies would be obtained from the amalgamations.
The party's education spokesman Ruairi Quinn said Fianna Fáil "should not be allowed to create another expensive and grossly overstaffed body as they did with the Health Service Executive."
Elsewhere, Sinn Féin's education spokesman Senator Pearse Doherty said it would not be surprising if the plan ended up costing more than it is intended to save.
"This is a bad idea from a bad government. There is no evidence that this will save any money and given the track record of this government with regards to amalgamations, this could end up costing the tax-payers more money than it is supposed to save," he said.
Senator Doherty called on Ms Coughlan to publish a cost-benefit analysis of this proposal before proposing amalgamations.
